[aquariangt]

I use simply nourish source for dry, alternate between Chicken/Turkey, Rabbit/Chicken, Fish/Chicken. I don’t use the Chicken/Shrimp to keep the amount of fish she’s getting down.

Merrick never sat well for my dogs so I never tried it for my cat either, and wellness-while I like them-in general I find them so commercial that they’re a bit overpriced for my taste. The dogs get more of a rotation than the cat, because she’s so picky, heh, but I use 4 different brands regularly for them (for dry, they have a myriad of canned and dehydrated options)

[Bobby dog]

I looked at Simply Nourish for the kitties and liked the recipe. I never get to Petsmart or order anything from them, but I think I will be taking a class at my college’s main campus soon. There is a Petsmart close by so it’s on “the list” to buy. Everyone that has fed it seems to like it.

As far as pricing for Wellness, I pull an Akari and print the $5.00 coupon and use it when Pet Supplies Plus has them on sale. Which seems to be every other month. I agree, they are pricey.

[aquariangt]

I’m not super adverse to paying a bit more for brands that aren’t everywhere (read: PetSmart and PetCo, though I have things I buy from there) I use Acana, and Honest Kitchen, for some reason Nature’s Variety and Wellness’ prices just really bother me, haha.

[arwyru24]

Bobby’s mom… that made me laugh so hard….stolen food always tastes so much better, especially stolen from the cats. Dogs are hilarious.

[jakes mom]

Has anyone tried FreshPet? The dog food gets a 3.5 star rating. I bought a small bag of the chicken cat food and 2 of my guys love it. Almost as convenient as dry. It does have fish in it, tho. Something else for the rotation list when the price is right.

[Bobby dog]

jakes mom:
Thanks for the review! As much as I am in Wal-Mart buying canned for Bobby I always forget about FreshPet. I do want to try it for the kitties and I am putting it on my phone now so I don’t forget next time. I am now to the point of trying my best to keep fish at a two to three times a week feeding. They just revolt other wise. lol

The baby bunny is still living under my pumpkin plant. At least I think there is only one. I peeked on him yesterday morning when I was watering the garden. As soon as I saw the one moving I put the grass back in place. I would love to see more than one baby, they are so cute.

Only one of my cats visits the garden on a rare occasion. He only comes down to eat catnip and it’s in the other garden. Bobby hasn’t found the nest and I distract him when he heads for the pumpkin patch. I hope he doesn’t eat much from the garden when he’s out and about. lol

[crazy4cats]

Bobby dog-
Again, thanks. And to whoever asked, YES, I’ve used Fresh Pet. I really ( I mean my dogs, lol!) like it! But truth of the matter, I did taste it. It was not yummy to me. I just have a lot of canned and Honest Kitchen on hand to use up, otherwise I’d stick in my topper rotation. Never tried it with the cats, however. I should though. It’s just so frustrating when they turn their noses up. I always have to make sure the thyroid girl gets enough food.
So, I think my Buhner dog will be fine. They thought there might be something in his throat. But the X-Ray showed a lot of inflammation, but nothing stuck. He probably chewed up or ate something he shouldn’t have and scratched him all up. His teeth and gums were fine. They gave him an anti inflammatory shot. He was so good with the vet! Except he did express his anal glands on the wall when they were getting the X-ray! Oops! I hand fed him some canned tonight and he started eating a little. Hopefully whatever it was came out one end or the other already. My 19 year old son is out of school now and doesn’t keep a great eye on the dogs during the day thanks for asking!

[Akari_32]

I would just like to point out that I don’t find the price of Wellness canned high at all :p

C4C, glad the doggie is ok 🙂 Maybe some honey will help with the inflammation.

I always forget about FreshPet. How much fish does it have? Anyone have a price on it?

[arwyru24]

I always forget about freshpet

[arwyru24]

Is the freshpet raw?

[Akari_32]

No, it’s like THK, but in squishy kibble form. It’s not kibble, but it’s not wet, either. It’s refrigerated. Walmart has it, and some pet stores and grocery stores are getting in too.

[crazy4cats]

It comes in a roll and it has to be refrigerated. I believe three different sizes. You can slice it. It looks like pimento loaf to me. But, it sure didn’t taste like it. LOL! It’s convenient. They have it scored for you so you can measure out how much to feed easily. They actually have a pretty good website. I’ve seen it at Walmart and Fred Meyer. Check it out!

[Akari_32]

Oh yeah, there’re rolls too lol

[aquariangt]

They have 3 different lines, and I haven’t looked to closely at the differences. 1 is in grocery stores and walmart/target (best food you can get at most of those IMO, though King Sooper’s out here now carries I and Love and You, haven’t used it though) 1 is in petsmart/petco/other petstores, and the new one is in whole foods. I don’t know if I’d use the rolls too much-I use some rolls as training treats- but the soft kibble interests me

[Bobby dog]

I have some prices from my Wal-Mart on FreshPet Select rolls for dogs, $3.16, $4.86 & $12.86. I haven’t checked out the prices recently though, not sure how accurate they are.

It is a cooked product that must be kept refrigerated, as C4c wrote t comes in a roll form and also small nugget bites, tubs, and shreds for cats now. They have their own facility for making the food. They’ve added a few different foods and treats since I have looked at the website last. They have a line that is made from anitbiotic and hormone free poultry, grain free, and limited ingredient slections.

Bobby loved the FreshPet Select. I fed it as a topper once before I came to DFA. I will feed it again it’s just that I am all stocked up on dry, kibble, and raw for Bobby right now.

I am definately going to try it out for the kitties. Hopefully it will be something to add to the rotation. They have some shredded meat & gravy recipes for kitties that are only available in California; that’s okay since my cats don’t like shreds. lol

http://freshpet.com/

[jakes mom]

The FreshPet I bought was the soft kibble form. I’ve used the dog food rolls in the past as well. I paid $8.99 for a 2# bag at my local grocery store, probably cheaper at Walmart. Petsmart has it too, but I’ve no idea of the price there. I was just trying to find something different for the cats. I believe there’s a beef flavor for cats, too, I’ll give that a try next time. I was disappointed that none of them would even try THK. Not that it went to waste, lol, Jake was happy to take care of it for me.
Bobby Dog, thanks for the bunny update! They are adorable, aren’t they?

[arwyru24]

I looked it up online to see what the consistency looked like..

C4C …yuuuuuckkkk I can’t believe you tasted it!!! hahaha. I couldn’t bring myself to taste pimento loaf lol. I have wondered before what pet food might taste like, but just tasting plain chicken baby food is bad enough.

[Akari_32]

Ewww, I wouldn’t eat pet food lol Some of it may be human grade, but there’s still no way of knowing for sure what goes into it and how it was handled lol

Side note, “Oh were you trying to do laundry? Here, let me fix that for you.”

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/4F7F2DD6-377F-4382-AC7B-1400952BB74D_zpslpbbsiza.jpg

[jakes mom]

This reminds me of my Benjamin, I always have to double check the dryer before I shut the door. Cats are weird and wonderful, aren’t they?

[crazy4cats]

Akari-
Yippee! A picture, finally. I could look at cat pictures all day, LOL! And, BTW, I TASTED the dog food, I didn’t eat dog food. 🙂 There was talk about it being salty. I wanted to check it out. And, no, I didn’t think it was overly salty.
Yes, please always double check the dryer before you shut the door. A former coworker told me a horror story about a cat in the dryer.

[Akari_32]

He always gets in there lol He knows I don’t want him in there, but I don’t ever do anything to stop him, so he gets up in there and just kind of rubs it in my face LOL I’m actually surprised when he’s *not* in there…. Lol

[jakes mom]

Bobby dog, have you been on the HK site? You can get sample pouches so you can see if the cats will like it, without spending a lot of $$. My guys wouldn’t even taste it, they gave it a sniff then gave me a look that said, “what are you trying to do to me?”. The packets are not very big so if your guys usually have to try something several times to decide whether they like it or not, you’d need to take that into consideration. It’s good food, tho, I really wish mine would eat it. If nothing else, you’d have a new topper for Bobby for a few days. Right now my cats are eating good dry and mostly cans, now adding the Freshpet. And my Julie absolutely loves raw, so she gets a bit of that as well. The other cats really not interested in the raw so it’s just Julie and the dog getting the good stuff! Old cats, old habits I guess!

[Bobby dog]

Akari: Love the pic, he’s quite handsome with that new collar and tag!!!

C4c is not the only one who has tasted FreshPet. There was a discussion a few months ago on the FreshPet Select forum and a few posters either tasted it before or decided to give it a try. Yuuuuuuuuuuck, hats off to C4c and anyone else for tasting or eating something that they would feed their pet though! ;0

jake’s mom:
I have been to the HK site and forgot about the samles. I will check it out again. If anyone happens to like it my local pet store sells the recipe recommended by Catinfo that I could pick up easily. And one of the things Bobby is good for is eating any cat food regardless if the cats want it or not. lol I agree, old cats, old habits. Oh well, they are eating much, much, much better food now. I can’t force them to eat what they don’t want to, but they are eating well.

On another subject, my cats who live outdoors have no fleas right now!!!! I actually did not use flea preventative on them this summer. It was a hard decision to make, but I thought I would give it a try. I have some flea stuff (chemicals), DE, and Halo flea dip on hand, haven’t had to use them. I have been flea combing them and have found nothing. I am sooooooo excited about this, eating well makes such a huge difference for our little furry friends. I used to spend an hour and a half flea combing everybody during flea season, don’t miss that. Now I am down to brushing, checking for ticks, and calling it a night.

[arwyru24]

That is amazing about the fleas. I have to admit that during flea season, I use a preventive on my indoor only cats, and the dog lives at my parents house so he doesn’t come into my home to bring fleas to my cats. I have just been there with the flea infestations, when frontline stopped working a couple years ago and the dog must have brought in fleas and he and our 18 year old house cat were totally infested and it was a nightmare. I was using revolution, and I was glad of it when Wyatt escaped last June and was on the lamb for 3 weeks living in the wilderness. He got out like 2 days before he was due for another dose, so when I finally caught him he was already almost 3 full weeks overdue and there was nary a tick or flea on him. I was impressed. More recently though the last time I applied revolution to Wyatt he got a tiny little patch of missing hair exactly where the revolution was applied so I talked to my vet and I switched to Activyl, which I gave them this last month…it is supposed to be the safest of them all, although it only does fleas not ticks, but hopefully he won’t escape again…anyway, the activyl seemed to give him a burning sensation after I put it on because he seemed like he was trying to run away from it for a few minutes. I don’t know what I am going to do next.

[Bobby dog]

You have to take everything into consideration. I don’t blame you for using flea preventative on your indoor kitties, they are still able to get them. I still am not sure if I made the right decision because if they do get them, getting rid of them mid season is more difficult, fingers crossed! They are all older (except one) and everytime I see them in the afternoon laying around in the grass, I cringe.

Can’t believe your cat was missing for three weeks! How scary. Nice happy ending though. 😉

[aquariangt]

I have another question (why are cats so much harder for me than dogs?!) also- the wellness cubed and sliced has worked, so thanks for that suggestion!

The tuna has been working, so I now have a mix of tuna and chicken cans and pouches. BFF, weruva a, wellness, soulistic. However, many people don’t like feeding fish for some health reasons, do you guys think any canned is more important than the fish issue?

[Bobby dog]

Hi aquariangt:
I can’t answer that question either!!!!

I feel the fish issue is important, however I choose my battles. Lol If I could never feed fish again I do think it would be best, but they are older kitties and are addicted to fish. I feed it every three days, sometimes two. It is also difficult for me to find even better brands that don’t contain some form of fish in the recipe that they will eat. I have had better luck finding a few grocery store brands that they will eat with no fish.

If I had to pick feeding canned that is some or mostly fish based to get my cat to eat wet food, I would pick canned with fish. Then eventually I would try my best to mix or rotate in some recipes that don’t contain fish.

If it helps, I started the new diet for my cats in September, it has taken me this long to limit fish to just two or three times a week. I aim for no fish, however that may never be in the picture for my cats and I am okay with that.

Recently rather than buying a fish based wet food I have been mixing wild caught mackerel or tinned sardines in with the wet food that they like that doesn’t contain fish. I would also be happy to feed wild caught over farmed fish at this point; so far, so good.

Here are some quotes and links to catinfo that discusses the possible health issues that may be associated with feeding fish to cats:

From catinfo.org:
“PBDEs – PBDEs are fire retardant chemicals that can be found in high concentrations in some fish and also in house dust. Since PBDEs are known to affect thyroid function, and cat foods tend to be high in fish, there may be a causal link between hyperthyroidism and fish consumption. This is one of several reasons why I recommend against feeding fish-based diets to cats.”

Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition

“You will notice that many of the higher protein diets are fish-based but it is not a good idea to feed fish to cats. Or, at least not as their main diet. Fish can be high in mercury, high in PBDEs (fire retardant chemicals linked to hyperthyroidism), high in phosphorus (not good for older cats’ kidneys) and can be very addicting. It is best to feed poultry-based diets to cats.”

Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition

[aquariangt]

In that case, I’ll feel good about doing it for now. Once I have her to the point where dry is just a snack between meals, I’ll look into pulling the tuna out. She eats it so much faster than the poultry based ones, I just don’t want to go backwards in my canned progress

[theBCnut]

I don’t worry about feeding a little fish. I rotate through the different proteins I can find in canned food and when the fish rotation comes around, I feed fish. Since it is less than twice a week, I feel like I’m doing pretty good. If you can, go for sardine or herring. The smaller fish are more likely to have a lot less comtamination.

[Akari_32]

Like Patty said, a little fish isn’t a big deal. I’m currently feeding two 5.5 oz cans of fish (tuna) every 8 days. I think Alec could care less what I feed him, though lol

[Akari_32]

Btw, that’s tuna Wellness, not just plain ol’ tuna lol

[jakes mom]

Tried the other Freshpet flavor today , beef/chicken variety does not contain fish. The same 2 kitties like it, the others don’t like either flavor, or maybe it’s the texture they don’t like, who knows. On the fish subject, another question. Is it just an issue for cats and not dog food? And why is fish oil recommended in some diets but not feeding actual fish? Does it depend on the type of fish? I know smaller fish are considered safer.

[theBCnut]

It is an issue for dogs too, but cats are more likely to be stereotyped as supposed to be fed fish. And cats can be more sensitive to toxins.

Fish oils are for the omega 3s, I do give fish as a natural source of omega 3s, but you have to give the right kind of fish.

[Bobby dog]

jakes mom:
There’s just no pleasing those pesky cats!! 😉

[jakes mom]

Thanks BCnut. The ABC diet for the dog recommends salmon and sardines. He loves it but of course the cats beg, too! I have been offering the cats some raw as well, but only one will eat it. She adores it, screams when she sees it!
Bobby dog, you said it! If I could at least find a couple of things that everybody liked! Especially important for my hyperthyroid guy, I’m constantly trying to get extra calories into him.

[Bobby dog]

jakes mom:
I do feel bad for you guys that have to worry a little more for your hyper-t kitties nourishment. Although Archie has hyper-t at least he will eat anything which allows me to feed him good stuff. I don’t know what I would do if one of the other finicky kitties had it.

Sounds like the ABC diet is going well! Tomorrow I am picking blueberries. This year I am picking extra for good old Bobby dog; he does love his blueberries.

[jakes mom]

Bobby dog, I’m not a berry fan myself, but maybe I should get some for Jake! That little piglet will try anything.
Dustin, my hyper-t kitty, is a pretty good eater luckily. And I can usually get a few extra calories into him because he’s also quite nosy, lol. Whenever I’m in the kitchen he comes in to see what’s going on so I’ll give him a bit of the Freshpet. He and Julie, my girl who loves raw, are the 2 that like Freshpet.

[Bobby dog]

Love a nosy kitty! 😉 That’s great he’s a good eater, I thought for some reason he was one of your picky guys.

Can’t wait to try FreshPet for my kitties, fingers crossed for another option to feed them.

You should try some blueberries for Jake if you can. I have to tell you I cut the them in half when I feed them to Bobby or else he picks them out of his dish and carries them around the house and plays with them. I found out about this little game when I gave him frozen bb’s so I thought okay I’ll try fresh, but he still thought he should play with them. Cutting them in half takes the fun out of the game for Bobby and he eats them right away. There’s nothing like blueberry stains on the furniture and carpet. lol

I was disappointed today because the blu berries were not that ripe so I decided to go back in a couple of days to get more. I only picked a pint of them. The black rasberries were very plentiful so all was not lost. lol

[jakes mom]

Bobby dog, thanks for the tip about the berries! Doubt that would be a problem for Jake tho, he pretty much inhales his food. But I will know to pay attention first time I give him some. He really loves his vegies, too! Have started with a bit of coconut oil, he likes that, as do some of the cats. I smear some onto a plate and the cats lick it off. I would imagine it will be a help with hairballs, too.

[Bobby dog]

😉

Coco oil is good for so many things, hairballs being one! About 6 months before I came to DFA I researched coco oil for my hyper-t kitty’s issues, it helped him a great deal. Love that stuff!!!

[crazy4cats]

Well, shockingly, I like the coconut oil better than my pups. They usually like everything. Weird? Luckily, my cats are loving the NVI duck that I bought a case of. I’m excited they have “fancy” food for a bit. Just be careful if you buy it. The pate sits in a lot of juice and it pops out on you when it’s opened. I’ve gone to work smelling like cat food a few times. 🙂

[Bobby dog]

You just can’t guess one way or the other what they will like can you? Me and Bobby still fight over coco oil. He thinks he should get it every day since I put it on my toast in the morning.

I am going to pick up a few cans next time I stock up since you and Sharon have given it good reviews. That is the only canned cat food line of NV I haven’t tried, at least I don’t think I have. I didn’t always have my spread sheets! lol

[Akari_32]

Anyone ever try this?

http://www.soulisticpet.com/index.php

Do they offer coupons? You know how much I love coupons :p

[aquariangt]

The tuna was a success over here. I haven’t tried any of the chicken ones yet-it’s made by Weruva, is their PetCo exclusive brand. Now that I’m narrowing down what picky will eat and what she won’t, this one will probably be getting a case ordered

[Bobby dog]

Yes, I feed the Soulistic Good Karma and Aromatic Chic. The chicken is shredded like Weruva or Tiki Cat, like chicken you would eat. Check out pics of Weruva’s chic cat food to get an idea if interested. I have not fed any other flavors because they included K3 in the recipe, but I noticed the last cans I got seemed to have it now. I try to stay away from K3, but it’s hard to when you have mostly picky kitties.

I have never seen coupons for Soulistic. 🙁

[crazy4cats]

I also have used Soulistic. I was excited because it looked like a healthier choice for not much more money. But, the chicken is shredded and my cats seem to be stuck on pates. Darn it! Btw ones with the gelee are kind of weird. Not sure what it is, but cats do not like.

[arwyru24]

So I have been struggling with flea preventative for my cat Wyatt who has some skin issues as of lately. He did fine on revolution, but the last time he got it he had a little teeny tiny bald patch where I applied it, so my vet said it was suspicious and not to re-use it. So last month I tried activyl but when I applied it he seemed like he was trying to run away from it, I think it stung or burned. Plus the activyl was really greasy which is not a big deal if it is safe and it works but I was concerned about the burning sensation he seemed to be having so back to the vet and now I have Aaron back on revolution since he’s always done fine on it (although he has a sensitive stomach and barfs all the time if I don’t watch what I feed him) and I tried Wyatt on Comfortis. This was a few days ago, we didn’t have any vomiting or gastrointestinal symptoms so thats good but I was a little wary of using it since I don’t know much about it. They are indoor cats but I just so do not want a flea infestation, and the puppy comes over to visit now so its important.

[Akari_32]

I swear by Little City Dogs. It’s cheap, it’s 100% safe, even in the case of extreme overdose, and I cannot find a single bad review on it (other than people not understanding how it works). A one year supply for a normal sized cat or small dog is $25. Can’t beat that at all! They have a website and an amazon store. I check between the two because the small dog and cat ones sell out quickly on Amazon, but they also have great sales. Either way is free shipping. The “control” kills the flea eggs and larvae and is given monthly, and the “killer” is a once daily pill for adult fleas. I use the Control.

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[Akari_32]

Alright guys, I need some opinions. Like an idiot, I went out and spent $40 on 200lb of Tidy Cats litter. That’s my entire monthly budget for pet food. And I did this WITHOUT looking to see how much cat food I had left. So now I’m down to 10 days of food, with an extra couple weeks worth of just Sheba stashed away, as well. So, 10 days of his normal rotation left. Wellness is not on sale, and my printer is down, so I can’t print out a bunch of $1 coupons and price match at Pet Supermarket. Friskies is on sale for 49 cents a can, which isn’t bad, but I don’t like all the additives in there. Then there’s Grreat Choice. On sale for 37 cents a can, no colors, no questionable urinary tract mumbo-jumbo.

The only thing I don’t particularly like is that it’s just under 3% carbs and has a little fish (on the description of the beef on at least. Some others may not). I’d like to see a bit lower, and no fish. But all I need to do is get enough to stretch out his current rotation long enough to get more Wellness, or find something else good to add in. I can get like 55 cans of Grreat Choice for $17. That’s almost two months of food right there! By-products aside, it’s a decent food.

Authority is on sale too, but I don’t know how I feel about the corn stuff they use. Same with Nutro Max Cat. I’ll me looking around at more sales. I may get some Friskies too, but I’m not sure yet. I’ll keep a looking around. Just wondering what you guys thought about my plan?

http://m.petsmart.com/h5/hub?id=cat%2Fcanned-food%2Fgrreat-choice-pate-adult-cat-food-zid36-12869%2Fcat-36-catid-200027%3Fvar_id%3D36-12869

[Bobby dog]

Can you return some of the cat litter?

Are you taking classes now? Does your school let you print?

[Author]

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